What is left now of the 2016 season for the Chargers — and perhaps, their time in San Diego — is a dull, fading light. The end is near. It’d be easy to disregard the two-game remnants of this year as insignificant in the grand scheme.

And yet, moments flicker.

There was Thursday afternoon when dozens of fans stood outside the team’s Murphy Canyon facility, in the rain, to wish the team off to Cleveland where it’ll face the winless Browns Saturday on Christmas Eve.

There is a team that, for all its faults, has not made life easy on one opponent this year. Eight of the Chargers’ nine losses have come by a one-score margin, the only exception occurring two Sundays ago when a stranger made his debut.

Trovon Reed has been an improbable source for a material the Chargers carry in short supply.

At a dark time, he’s brought them light.

The cornerback may be the most surprising December development on a team of 53. He wasn’t here in training camp. He wasn’t signed to the practice squad until late October. But his beaming energy and presence have galvanized his secondary room, teammates say, as he emerges into the latest player the Chargers didn’t expect to depend upon this year.

His road here was radiant.

A woman was the spark.

Reed lost his mother, Roszaina Johnson, to a brief battle with colon cancer on March 6, 2009. He was still a junior in high school, so she was not alive to see him commit to Auburn — he did so months later on her Nov. 19 birthday — or play in college or the NFL.

Still, Reed fulfilled a promise.

He was in eighth grade, he said, when he first told his mother that, not only would he make it to the NFL, but he’d find the end zone on his first catch. It was a bold claim. And it became bolder when he switched positions in college, moving from wide receiver where he’d been one of the nation’s top high-school recruits to the defensive side at cornerback.

That didn’t stop him.

Reed went undrafted and spent 2015 between the Rams’, Dolphins’ and Seahawks’ practice squad. Seattle cut him after training camp this year, and he remained a free agent until Oct. 26 when the Chargers signed him to their practice squad.

In the fourth quarter of his NFL defensive debut, he picked off Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on Dec. 11 and returned the interception 100 yards for a touchdown. Minutes later, the return was negated on an official review; Reed was ruled down by contact.

The end-zone moment happened nonetheless.

“The only thing I could do on the (flight) back is cry,” Reed said. “I cried. I sat in my chair. Everyone was like, ‘You caught a pick. You should be happy.’ I was just bawling. I’m crying because God and my mom really gave me everything I’ve asked for, on their time. If I would have got it on my time, I don’t know if I’d still be this humble kid who everyone is looking to hear my story.”

Gratitude

One week later, when he picked off Raiders quarterback Derek Carr for his second career interception in consecutive games, Reed did not hesitate. He stood, turned to the home sideline and pointed the football toward Mike McCoy. He then ran to his head coach and hugged him, giving him the ball in an exchange McCoy did not anticipate.

“Special,” McCoy called the off-guard moment.

So is what predated it.

Reed credits coaching for enabling him to create takeaways in as many weeks. He credits coaching for allowing him an opportunity, he says, to honor his mother each time he steps onto the field. But he had to earn the right.

It took time.

Secondary coach Ron Milus sat down with Reed when he first arrived, presenting a road map for the 25-year-old.

“Coach Milo was like, ‘You’re going to have to play soon. You’re not going to play right now because I don’t trust you yet,’ ” Reed said. “I understood that. I didn’t take that in a (negative) way. It was my first day in the room.

“Two weeks go by. We have the same conversation. He’s like, ‘The way you’re practicing, I love it.’ I said, ‘Coach, I practice like a game because I’m not really playing in a game. My game day is on Wednesday and Thursday.’ He said, ‘Man, that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard from a young kid.’ ”

It didn’t take much longer.

He earned Milus’ and McCoy’s trust. McCoy detailed how.

In part, it was the energy Reed showed. Indeed, he practices as if playing an actual game, McCoy said. The Chargers often pump artificial crowd noise to simulate game-day atmosphere in practice. Amid the noise, McCoy has spotted Reed waving his arms in the air as if an actual crowd of 70,000 was watching a practice session closed to the public.

Call it confidence. Call it fun.

It’s a spark the 5-9 Chargers want.

By many measures, injuries have hit their roster harder than with any other NFL team this season. Eighteen players are on injured reserve. One, running back Dexter McCluster, is on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List. Another, defensive end Tenny Palepoi, is suspended for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

All that has left their coaches as having to lean on players who weren’t part of their original training-camp blueprint.

Defensive line coach Giff Smith led his group past the absence of key contributors to injuries and suspensions. Recent draft picks like running back Melvin Gordon and tight end Hunter Henry have developed under Ollie Wilson and John McNulty, respectively.

The list goes on.

“I think our staff has done a phenomenal job all year long,” McCoy said. “(Like our players,) the coaches haven't skipped a beat. Regardless of what position that it is, you don’t hear any .. complaining.”

Reed appreciates it.

That is why he presented his intercepted ball to McCoy last Sunday. That is why, when discussing McCoy after Wednesday’s practice, he pointed across the practice field to a large wall of cinder blocks, which outline the large dirt hill bordering the practice field at Chargers Park.

“When I hear (negative) stuff about Coach McCoy, that’s people who don’t know what they’re talking about,” Reed said. “This man really changed my life. If you want me to run through that brick wall over there, I’m going to get my helmet out of the locker room, strap it up and run through that brick wall.

“I’m going to try because he took me off the streets, and I’ll be forever appreciative of that.”

Stranger things

It is odd, seeing Reed interact with his teammates.

He just got here.

He just got here, and yet, when guard D.J. Fluker walked past him in the locker room in November, he caught the offensive lineman by surprise by snatching the Alabama beanie off his head, slamming it to the ground and yelling “War Eagle!” like an O’Doyle brother from the Adam Sandler movie, “Billy Madison.”

He just got here, and yet this Wednesday, the day after cornerback Casey Hayward was named to his first career Pro Bowl, he challenged the NFL interception leader during a mundane drill in practice to try and stop him from catching a pass. Hayward thought Reed was going to run a fade route. Reed ran a slant and caught a score, celebrating in properly wild fashion.

Light travels faster than sound.

Reed acclimated himself before Chargers teammates heard him coming.

“I think he’s been here five or six weeks,” Hayward said. “It feels like he’s been here for a while. That’s the personality he brings to our room. He’s a really good dude and a good player. We tell him: When your opportunities come, make the plays. And that’s what he’s been doing, two weeks in a row an interception. He’s second on the team in interceptions, and he’s only played a couple games.”

Reed did not remain a stranger for long.

He made sure of it.

When he first arrived at Chargers Park, he made a point to shake hands with anyone with whom he came into contact, he said. It was, “Hello, I’m Trovon Reed,” to this person and, “Hello, I’m Trovon Reed,” to the next. He went around the facility, shaking hand after hand.

This is how he was raised.

Give respect first. Receive it second. Be available to those around you.

Be their light.

“I could be on my worst day,” Reed said. “You won’t see it on the practice field. You won’t see it when I’m around my teammates because it’s not their fault I’m having the worst day. I would give them anything, especially if we have a losing season. A lot of people are down. I’m going to be that joy. I’m going to make you smile. I’m going to walk in, and if I see you down, I’m coming over there; I want to see what’s wrong with you.

“If you’re having family problems with your wife, I’m not going to get all up in your business, but I’m going to make sure my brother is OK. That’s just the way I carry myself. All I can say is my mama raised me this way.”

CAPTION

In the first round of the Super Bowl tournament, the four AFC teams all turned in sloppy or mediocre work.

In the first round of the Super Bowl tournament, the four AFC teams all turned in sloppy or mediocre work.

CAPTION

In the first round of the Super Bowl tournament, the four AFC teams all turned in sloppy or mediocre work.

In the first round of the Super Bowl tournament, the four AFC teams all turned in sloppy or mediocre work.

CAPTION

Not surprisingly, ratings for Chargers telecasts in San Diego declined in the first season following the team moving to Los Angeles, although they were still higher than other NFL games.

Not surprisingly, ratings for Chargers telecasts in San Diego declined in the first season following the team moving to Los Angeles, although they were still higher than other NFL games.

CAPTION

Chargers lose to Jacksonville Jaguars with a late fumble and an interception in overtime.

Chargers lose to Jacksonville Jaguars with a late fumble and an interception in overtime.

CAPTION

In hindsight, was all that relocation talk a distraction for the Chargers and could it be the same for the Raiders, now? Philip Rivers answers that question as well as how he feels about seeing former defensive coordinator John Pagano.

In hindsight, was all that relocation talk a distraction for the Chargers and could it be the same for the Raiders, now? Philip Rivers answers that question as well as how he feels about seeing former defensive coordinator John Pagano.